Remy arr-arr-arr-ed like a seal

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Remy arr-arr-arr-ed like a seal

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Joseph C, longtime master of his beloved and now deceased Schnauzer, Remington, wanted a fully human portrait to remember him by. Here Joseph describes what home life was like for Remy and his crew of cats and fellow schnauzers, and how these domestic scenes informed Joseph’s healing Dreamscape:

“[Looking at my Dreamscape] I got this joy at what’s happening here. The Zen-like feeling, the serenity. The essence of my relationship with Remington; the pack sense of my animals; dogs and cats together. It’s almost like the seal in the montage is going “Hey, hey, HEY! I want that orange!”

The thing with citrus fruits: I’d sit on the kitchen floor, peeling oranges and they’d run in, cats and dogs sitting by my side. They’d chew it right from my hand. For them it was a treat, and for me, too. They’d lick their chops, the juice all over their faces, like children.

The montage will go up on the family wall. It’s made me think about the whole family element with all the creatures involved – including me. Where my wife grew up, the animals lived outdoors. Here they were part of the family, part of the routine.

I didn’t know where this process would take me. Remy spent a lot of time in the salon as a young pup. It was obviously my world, my environment, so there’s the chairs. The beach, we figured out was Remy’s perfect playground. The topiaries with rocks and boulders gave a sense of what our home is like, except without boundaries. The sunset, with the light crescendo-ing creates depth. You can say it’s romantic or enlightening but for me what it comes down to is that it evokes a strong sense of emotion.

Remy had this way when he was happy: he ar-ar-ared like a seal. You knew it was him; that was his sound. So the auditory part of the montage is huge: it always will remind me of Remy’s sound.”

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